details to follow

details to follow ~ lessons learned dealing with a Riverside contractor for a job in Big Bear Lake 92315
~ ~ ~

As with an attic or garage, materials and thoughts have been collected here as they are found or forwarded. Some matters have been moved off the site pending further action.

~ ~ ~

Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error. Andrew Jackson

~ ~ ~
a starting point for some Folks in Riverside
~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~
Consider not agreeing to arbitration any sooner than you need to. If your contractor shafts you, you are probably going to want a jury to be able to hear about it. Chances are you will not be consulting an attorney when you enter into any contract. It may not be necessary to bind your attorney's hands with an arbitration agreement ahead of time. If it is a pre-printed form, maybe you can just cross out any arbitration language. If you are concerned, you can check with a lawyer ahead of time! Take this to heart whether you are in Orange County or Riverside; San Bernardino, Los Angeles, or San Diego; and whether you're a board of education or homeowner; highway department or private school.

~ ~ ~

Aaron Andrew Avila Andy Aaron Avila Charles Avila Chuck Avila

Jacob Avila Jake Avila Naomi Avila Avi-Con, Inc.

dba CA Construction

981 Iowa Ave Ste B Riverside, CA 92507-1615

981 Iowa Avenue Suite B Riverside, CA 92507-1615

981 Iowa Avenue Suite B Riverside, CA 92507

951-781-8055 951-660-1881 951-275-9114 951-660-5291 951-781-1077

	- Keep good records - of work done and promises made. - Beware of fraud - against you, against the insurance company. This can include overcharging and double billing, or billing for work or materials not provided. (do not assume that your carrier will watch every nickel. Their primary interest may be to close your file, and if there is wrong or double billing, they may let it slide to be done with your project) - When a contractor tells you that they can and will do something - or that they will make a reasonable proposal - get it in writing or confirm it in writing, including e-mail. Realize that although you are prepared to pay for additional work while an insurance contractor is doing work, they may refuse to do the work, or even make a proposal, although their assurances were what induced you to use them in the first place. - Be prepared to counter potential lies or mistatements of fact. - Document promises; and take pictures, incl. narrated video. If a court doesn't like the narration, it can be deleted before the jury hears it.. - If your contractor lies to about the weather, they may lie to you about paint color, wood finishing, drywall repair, or damage they caused. - Aways be concerned about drywall-dusty footprints on your furniture. - Remember to allow for the possibility that there is a failure of leadership in the organization. It may be that the person responsible to oversee everybody has dropped the ball in any of several ways: either not realizing that subordinates have been misrepresenting job progress, timing, et cetera; or not caring. This is especially so in family-run companies where the loyalty may be to a relative rather than the customer. - If you are told that they will make good on problems they created because now (at painfully long last) they will commit their A Team, be very concerned. Many of the problems you will encounter likely could have been avoided if somebody really gave a darn. - Beware if your contractor changes business form -- corporation to partnership to LLC, or vice versa; or if there is a change of agent for service of process or legal address. Get confident that the accountability remains despite all the changes. Don't be a victim of entity shell games. - If you settle with your carrier, consider a provision that your settlement agreement does not get your contractor off the hook. - If the contractor suggests for whatever reason that you could do some of the work yourself, consider that there may be an asbestos issue with which they don't want to deal. - Beware in particular of a contractor who refuses to pack things out and offers instead to "work around" personal possessions or "we'll move them when we have to paint that room" or some such. You run the risk, as we did, of having your belongings stepped on with dusty boots and needing a cleaning. If they prefer not to pack it out, it may be an attempt to add labor charges to their total rather than have a packing contractor collect an honest fee. - when your contractor's A Team leaves a beer can in your bedroom, your problems may be worse than you imagined. Ours were.

~ ~ ~

	Professional alternatives to consider in the Inland Empire include Edge Development. They don't smother you with buzzwords like "trust" and seem content to let the work and their record provide the comfort.

~ ~ ~

	If you have recent property damage to your home, you should understand that you have choices. consider getting multiple bids or proposals.


	~ ~ ~

As time permits, we may explore the meaning of certain concepts . . . such as honesty and integity, fair and ethical, fine craftsmanship, timely and cost effective, efficiency, care and professionalism . . . and how they may be found in the real world.		In the meantime, look around: B A G

~ ~ ~



	Consider this a DIY toolkit when your patience has been tested and failed.



California State Contractors License Check	...always check 'additional status'	800-321-CSLB 800-321-2752
California Department of Insurance - Contact
California Department of Insurance Complaint *
California Business Portal; agt. for service of process
California State Contractors Fraud Investigator



	If your due diligence brought you here, welcome, whether you're a gourmet for truth or just a detective on a case.

~ ~ ~

	Public contracting agencies in California: do not hesitate to call if you have questions.

.
It's no secret we have an economy based on construction. I don't know how we'll escape labor and materials shortages. Rebecca Holmes

it turns out fraud is not unheard of in Brentwood or Big Bear Lake 92315
~ ~ ~

some old news:
posted after the damaging storms in Big Bear Lake 92315 in December 2010: If you have storm damage, inc. frozen pipes, and your carrier is covering it, you may not need to use the same contractor to do the repair as you used to contain the damage. Be very careful before you sign a contract for repairs on your mountain home. You may have real options.